Order From Words
by Istillwishiwasaweasley
Summary: Eliza Potter is having a tough start to the year but things will get better soon...surely? This is the third installment of Eliza Potter's quiet journey through Hogwarts. Make sure you read Journey to Words and Courage to Words in that order before you read this.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As she heard the lock click behind her Eliza sat down on the thin mattress and dropped her bag onto the floor. To say that Uncle Vernon was disgusted to have Eliza home was an understatement, the only reason she was allowed to stay in Harry's room was because there was still snow on the ground from a flurry just after New Year. Aunt Petunia had persuaded her husband to give Eliza the small bedroom and he had reluctantly agreed but he had made it quite clear that should Eliza make even the smallest of sounds during the night she would be out of the house and in the shed in seconds.

Eliza was therefore 100% sure that this would be her last night in the house; she had left the blanket under her bed back at Hogwarts. Hogwarts. It made her heart ache to think of it. She had only left it an hour ago but it felt like a lifetime. After Umbridge had dealt her near-fatal blow she had the good sense to leave the room before Professor McGonagall could hex her. Professor Dumbledore arrived moments later and had assured Eliza that he would have her back in Hogwarts as soon as was legally possibly and that members of the Order would be keeping an eye on both her and Privet Drive.

Eliza pulled her trunk to the foot of the bed but she couldn't bear to open it she pulled one of Harry's old T-shirts and a pair of his old jogging bottoms from the bottom drawer and changed quickly trying to stop the tears fall.

A knock on the door disturbed Eliza's thoughts and she looked at the door not bothering to answer, not bothering to move. The door opened and Aunt Petunia's bony face poked round,

"I've done you a hot water bottle, it's going to be cold tonight" Eliza nodded and took the bottle from her Aunt, avoiding eye contact. Aunt Petunia seemed to struggle with herself for a few moments but then left without another word.

As Eliza predicted it was barely 11.30 when Uncle Vernon woke her from her nightmare irate with her screaming. He dragged her down the stairs and out into the shed. There was still a forgotten jumper of hers from the previous summer lying frozen stiff in the corner. Aunt Petunia opened the door a few minutes after Uncle Vernon had locked it and gave Eliza her trunk, another hot water bottle and a few extra blankets.

The next few days passed by slowly. Aunt Petunia allowed Eliza into the house during the day when Uncle Vernon was at work. She passed the time reading some of Aunt Petunia's muggle novels, Eliza knew that she should be studying but she couldn't face opening her trunk.

On the fourth morning of Eliza's exile Aunt Petunia announced that they, Aunt Petunia and Eliza, were going out. Eliza looked up at her aunt in confusion,

"Come on get your coat. We've got an appointment and we can't be late".

Eliza obediently collected her coat and followed Petunia out of the house; she looked around as they stepped off the doorstep and wondered which Order member would be following them. Petunia walked briskly along the road and Eliza walked slightly behind her, careful to keep her footing on the icy pavement.

After 10 minutes of walking they arrived at their destination and Petunia opened the door and walked into the building without looking to see if Eliza was following her. Eliza looked up at the sign and felt her stomach tighten slightly in panic. It was a doctor's surgery, breathing out in determination Eliza walked through the door and stood behind her aunt as they were booked in.

As they sat down in the waiting room Petunia picked up a magazine and flicked through it without taking in the content.

"It's for your own good" she muttered to her niece, Eliza doubted that it was.

"Miss Potter" The doctor poked his head around the office door and Petunia stood up and made a motion to Eliza who walked into the office ahead of her aunt.

"Now Miss Potter, it's been quite a while since you were here. What can I do for you?" asked the Doctor kindly, Eliza looked at the floor and allowed Aunt Petunia to speak for her.

"She needs some sleeping tablets Doctor. She's been suffering with terrible insomnia so if you could just prescribe some tablets we'll be out of your way".

The Doctor looked slightly surprised by Petunia's directness and looked back at Eliza,

"I'm sorry to hear you're not sleeping Elizabeth, why do you think that is?" Eliza didn't respond.

"She still doesn't like talking to stranger's doctor but I can assure you that her school is handling the selective mutism issue so if we could just get the prescription…"

"Mrs Dursley I'm sure you can appreciate that I can't simply prescribe sleeping tablets to children without finding out the underlying cause for the insomnia. Do you know the reason why your niece is having problems sleeping?"

Eliza didn't move a muscle waiting to hear what Petunia would say, if anything.

"She…she had a traumatic experience and it is giving her nightmares. Her school are dealing with the situation but she has been…suspended for a few weeks and she finds it harder being with…at home that she does at school. Right Eliza?" asked Aunt Petunia carefully, Eliza nodded it was mostly accurate.

The pair emerged from the surgery 20 minutes later with a fortnight's prescription for sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication. The doctor had finally come round to Petunia's way of thinking and wrote the prescription.

That night she took the tablets under Petunia's watchful glare and then her aunt escorted her upstairs to Harry's room after a tense discussion with Uncle Vernon. She slept soundly.

After her first week at Privet Drive Eliza realised that she would be staying a while, long enough to do some studying. She started working during the day when Uncle Vernon was out, Aunt Petunia pretended as if she didn't notice the diagrams move on the page.

Owls had arrived for Eliza from the very first night she spent at Privet Drive but she simply detached the letters and put them under her bed. She recognised the handwriting; Fred, Hermione, Harry, Hagrid, Ron, Remus, Mrs Weasley, and even Ginny, but Eliza couldn't bear to open them.

Eliza opened her Potions book and began to read, she found her attention start to ebb after about an hour but she was determined to finish the chapter. The only subject that Eliza hadn't studied was Transfiguration, she wasn't sure why.

A knock at the door disturbed Eliza's thoughts and she looked over at Aunt Petunia, who was wiping the already sterile kitchen counter,

"Put those books away and stay here. It's probably the postman or the milkman."

Eliza nodded and pushed the books into her backpack listening to the front door. She heard Aunt Petunia's voice and she didn't sound happy, she was using a voice that she usually reserved for Harry and Eliza. Hearing the sound of footsteps Eliza stood up and looked at the door.

"Come on Eliza, we're going out for the day. Grab your jacket the clouds are threatening snow" Remus's voice was mild but Eliza could detect that he wasn't happy with her, or Aunt Petunia. Nevertheless Eliza nodded and went to retrieve her coat, when she returned Aunt Petunia was questioning Remus.

"When is she going back to…to school?" she asked looking annoyed,

"We're not sure yet,"

"Why? He said it wouldn't be too long, it's been over a week already!"

"Believe me Mrs Dursley we'll have Eliza back _home_ as soon as we can" Remus emphasized the word 'home' and Aunt Petunia pursed her lips,

"Will she be back for dinner?"

"No, Eliza will be back by 9 though, is that alright with you?"

Aunt Petunia nodded and walked back into the kitchen leaving Remus and Eliza alone in the hall.

"Do you have your wand?" Remus asked as he opened the door,

Eliza nodded and walked out into the driveway. She wanted to ask where they were going but she didn't really care, anywhere apart from Privet Drive had to be an improvement.

Remus looked around at the road and seemed to nod to someone before turning back to his god-daughter.

"Take my arm, we're apparating"

Eliza did as she was told and prepared herself as best she could. The twist came and the increasingly familiar sensation of her insides being squeezed though a tin can came over her. When she opened her eyes they appeared to be standing in an alley-way.

"Alright?" Remus asked looking to see if she looked like she might throw up, Eliza nodded but took a deep breath nonetheless, her stomach felt a bit like jelly.

"Come on then, let's get some Fish and Chips and then we can have a talk" Eliza nodded feeling slightly guilty for not replying to the owls.

They walked out of the alley-way and Eliza couldn't help but gasp at the sight, Remus had bought her to the sea-side.

"Fred mentioned that you always wanted to come to the coast so I thought I'd bring you here. It's out of season so it's not too busy and there's an art fair just up the road that I thought you might like," Eliza nodded and fought the urge to burst into tears, one escapee ran down her cheek but Remus wiped it away before squeezing her with his arm and leading them down the promenade.

As they sat on a bench eating the Fish and Chips Eliza turned to Remus,

"I'm sorry Remus" she said quietly.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about Eliza; you have every right to be angry. I think I'd block everyone out if it was me, in fact I know I would, but the only person to blame is Umbridge. It's no one else's fault."

"I just feel so…"

"Abandoned, angry, betrayed?" Eliza nodded and took another bite of the Fish, it was delicious.

"How have things been at Privet Drive?" Remus asked putting his polystyrene tray on his lap and turning to face Eliza to make sure she would answer truthfully,

"Fine."

"Really Eliza because both you and Harry have a funny definition of what 'fine' means. You seem to think that it means everything from 'terrible' to 'quite good!'"

Eliza snorted with a small laugh, she knew that Harry was like that but she didn't realise that she did it as well.

"How are you sleeping?"

"Better now that I've got the sle…" Eliza stopped suddenly; she wasn't sure how Remus would react.

"The what?" Remus asked cautiously,

"Well…the first few nights were really bad so…"

"Don't you have the blanket with you?"

"No, but I'm sleeping better now. Straight through the night."

"You're not sleep-walking either?" Remus asked looking confused.

"No."

"How Eliza?"

"Well…umm…Aunt Petunia took me to a doctor and he gave me some…some sleeping tablets and they work really…"

"Sleeping tablets!" Remus yelled jumping to his feet and knocking his food onto the floor,

"It's fine really, they even let me sleep in the house!" Eliza panicked and the words had just tumbled out, she hoped that Remus was too angry about the tablets to hear them.

"As opposed to where Eliza? The roof, the driveway?"

"No…please don't get angry it's not my fault I tried not to have nightmares the first night, I even tried staying awake again but…"

"Eliza you're right this isn't your fault, I'm sorry I shouldn't have shouted" Remus knelt down in front of Eliza and put his finger under her chin forcing her to look at him.

"Where did you sleep?"

"In…in the…the shed but it's much nicer in there now, they put a bed in and a light it wasn't like it used…"

"Like it used to be? Merlin Eliza how long has this been going on for?"

"Please Remus can we not talk about it now. I don't want it to ruin the day, it's so kind of you to bring me here and it's so beautiful."

"Ok but later we will talk about this Eliza. You and Harry are too good at keeping secrets, just like you're mother."

After they had finished their lunch (Eliza had to share the rest of her chips with Remus because he had dropped them on the floor and the seagulls were enjoying them) they walked along the sea front talking about the magical world. Eliza found it easier to hear about than she thought she would do.

Remus told Eliza that Fred had started a 'Silence for Eliza' campaign whereby most of Gryffindor house and a good deal of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students refused to talk in the presence of Umbridge. It made Eliza's heart ache to think of him and she resolved to read his letters when she got home.

Eliza also learned that 10 of Voldemort's most fanatical followed had broken out of Azkaban and the Ministry feared that Sirius was involved. Remus assured Eliza that Sirius had promised to stay in Grimmauld Place for the time being. Eliza knew that his boredom would get the better of him at some point.

The spent the rest of the afternoon at an art exhibition in a nearby town, Eliza enjoyed looking at all of the different styles of painting and Remus bought her a book on drawing people that Eliza had been admiring. People had always been troublesome for her to draw.

As the sky started to darken Remus pulled Eliza into an alleyway and the two of them apparated. When Eliza opened her eyes she was pleased to see the shabby outline of Number 12 Grimmauld Place inflating between 2 houses.

They walked into the hallway and Remus led the way into the kitchen.

Mrs Weasley was the first to reach Eliza and she gave her a bone-crushing hug,

"Oh Eliza, you're here! You look thin, are they feeding you enough? Oh we need to get you back to Hogwarts! Arthur look at her…"

"Calm down Molly, it's only been 2 weeks since you saw her. Hello Eliza, how are you doing?" Mr Weasley gave Eliza a brief hug and then walked over to his wife and tried to calm her down.

"How are you doing Eliza?" asked Sirius patting the chair next to him, Eliza went and sat down,

"I'm fine thank…"

"Eliza?" said Remus with an almost wolf-like quality,

"Umm...well, I've been better" Eliza corrected, Remus still didn't look satisfied but he let the matter drop.

Eliza spent an enjoyable evening at Grimmauld Place but when 8.30 rolled around and Remus asked for a private moment with her Eliza knew it was time for questions again. Mr Weasley and Sirius left without fuss but Mrs Weasley lingered by the door, Eliza thought Remus might ask her to leave but instead he motioned her to sit down.

"Eliza we need to know what's happening in Surrey"

"I thought there are Order members watching the house" said Eliza looking at the table.

"They are watching the house Eliza but they aren't peering through the curtains. They are there to look for intruders not to make sure you're being fed. Are you getting enough food?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon's at work most of the time and Aunt Petunia is…she's better than she was."

"Where are you sleeping?"

"In Harry's room."

"Don't you have a room Eliza?" asked Mrs Weasley gently, Eliza was completely stumped by the question. Did she have a room? She had alternated between the shed and the cupboard under the stairs but Eliza doubted that Mrs Weasley or Remus would be pleased to hear than.

"Umm…yeah but it's being painted" Eliza knew that her delay in answering had cost her the lie,

"Eliza do you usually sleep in the shed?" Mrs Weasley acknowledged the elephant in the room and Eliza's startled look told the story.

"But I'm not at the moment because it's cold so that's why Aunt Petunia got me the sleeping tablets, so I could sleep in the house!"

"Sleeping tablets?" asked Mrs Weasley bemused,

"It's a muggle drug Molly, the muggle healer prescribed some for Eliza…"

"But they work really well, I haven't had any nightmares and I haven't sleep walked so what's the problem?" asked Eliza desperately,

"The problem Eliza is that you could get addicted and they could hurt you in the long run. Your Aunt isn't doing this for your own good she's doing it to alleviate her own conscience…"

"Remus" warned Molly as Remus stood up looking angry,

"Well then get me back to Hogwarts! Please…"

Mrs Weasley looked like she was going to cry and Remus looked defeated,

"We're trying Eliza. We've got some homework assignments that Professor Dumbledore sent; you can send the essays by owl. Will that be allowed?"

"If it's during the night" replied Eliza feeling dejected.

"We'll have you out of there as soon as we can, I promise" said Mrs Weasley giving Eliza another hug.

The goodbyes were hard but when Eliza arrived back at Privet Drive she was more worried about what Remus would say to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon than when she would see him again. Petunia answered the door and Eliza hugged Remus hoping that he would leave quickly.

"Returned in one piece Mrs Dursley"

"Well in you come, up to bed" Eliza went to cross the threshold but Remus held her back.

"There's been a breakout from Azkaban prison so we'll be stepping up Eliza's security we'll try to respect your privacy and we'll try to avoid peeking through your curtains but Eliza's safety is paramount."

Aunt Petunia blanched slightly but maintained her composure and Remus left without another word.

As Petunia went to bed that night she couldn't help but look in on Eliza, she was sleeping peacefully and with her eyes closed she looked so much like Lily that Petunia's mind started to wander. She knew that Lily would hate what she was doing but what choice did she have. Vernon made it quite clear where the twins stood in their household. When they had first arrived Petunia had tried to treat them well but one night Harry had made Dudley's toy fly around the living room and Vernon had been livid. He moved them both into the cupboard under the stairs and instructed her to ignore their cries. Harry had always slept well but even then Eliza had always had trouble sleeping looking back Petunia wondered if it had been nightmares that had haunted her sleep even then.

Petunia shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned out the landing light, Vernon had made it clear where the twins stood. It was too late to change things now.

A/N Hello and welcome to the third and final (hopefully) part of Eliza's story! I had a great response to the last few chapters of Courage to Words and I'm hoping that the support will continue in this instalment. I will try and update every 2 weeks but I've moved to the Netherlands and I'm starting a master's degree so there's a lot going on at the moment.

Please review, it sucks having to go back down to 0 reviews!

Bethy-Boodles- I know, she's a great character to write though. Pure evil with a sugar sweet topping!

ForeverTeamEdward13- I'm glad it surprised you.

Rainy2000- Thanks, keep reading.

Amy Pond-Lovegood- Thanks, I'm glad you've enjoyed the series!

dream lighting- It felt quite strange not having Harry in this chapter.

Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape- I'm going to try beta-ing this story myself but thanks for your help, you've been great!

Ryn of Magic- I know, I'm so mean!

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks for the feedback. A dragon is a good idea but I think I'm going to have her be something fairly common and muggle.

Goldenfightergirl- Because I can hehe!

Rainy27- Well done for finally getting an account! The move went well thanks.

An aWesome Sea Maiden- This chapter was longer to make up for it!

sakuravampire-aqua- Yeah the Olympic games were great, you couldn't avoid them in England! The Paralympic games start soon but I don't have a TV and the BBC won't let me watch it because I'm now in another country, very mean!

XxyellowmellowxX- Are you still there? Did the suspense kill you?!

LiveItBreatheItSingIt- Thanks for the review. A fox is on my shortlist, it's a really good idea thanks!

Vampiremuggle- Hehe she can be sent home, I am the writer therefore I have the power!

Shakira94- Thanks, I do love a good cliffhanger!

1945- I really hope you're still reading!

Allen Pitt- I'm not having her totally relapse it would be too much for this point in the story. She is just having a HP-style angry phase, it won't last too long she's too logical.

The Cute One- Thank you for your lovely review, it made me smile all day!

Ellis614- Thanks

Yuriko-Rurinia- Thanks. The delay is more a case of me trying to decide which animal she'll be. Don't worry though it won't be too long.

GirlSwagg21- You don't need to beg, the new story is here!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The door was black and the corridor was long. Eliza didn't think she'd ever seen it before. She tried to walk towards it but her feet seemed to be stuck, she tried to look down at them but her eyes were glued to the door.

The dream changed to a graveyard, they were laughing at her and pointing. Eliza tried to close her eyes but she couldn't, she tried to run but she was stuck again. She could feel them coming closer; a hand grabbed her wrist…

Eliza woke with a start.

"GET UP! Come on, you're going back in that bloody shed!" Uncle Vernon was fuming and Eliza fell out of bed in fright, her legs were tangled in the blankets and she tried to pull her feet out but Uncle Vernon grabbed the bedding and dragged her into the landing, the side of her face was against the carpet and she felt the skin burn. He looked set to pull her down the stairs when Petunia caught up with them.

"Vernon you're hurting her!" she yelled kneeling down next to Eliza and helping to untangle her feet,

"What are you doing?" shouted Vernon looking at his wife as if she was mad,

"I told you they're watching the house!"

"I don't give a monkey's who's watching she's going in that shed! I've got a meeting today and it's important" Eliza's feet were freed and she stood up. She looked back at Petunia but her Aunt's courage seemed to be failing and she had returned to her bedroom.

Eliza followed her Uncle down the stairs and out into the garden, they had barely crossed the begonia bushes when a crack filled the air.

"Hello Eliza, Mr Dursley! It's a bit early to be taking a stroll isn't it" Mr Weasleys' voice sounded strained and both Eliza and Uncle Vernon turned towards him,

"What the devil are you…" began Uncle Vernon but Mr Weasley cut across him,

"Eliza what happened to your face?" Mr Weasley asked moving towards her; Eliza cast a worried look at her Uncle and remained silent.

"She fell out of bed, didn't you girl? Now what are you doing on my property?" Mr Weasley ignored Uncle Vernon and looked straight at Eliza,

"Is that true Eliza?" he asked kindly, Eliza nodded defiantly. Technically she had fallen out of bed it just happened to be before the carpet burn was inflicted. Mr Weasley looked disappointed.

"So what are you doing in the garden at this hour? Collecting something from the shed maybe?" Mr Weasley's voice had lost its gentle edge and Uncle Vernon paled slightly,

"Yes…some extra blankets" Vernon collected a threadbare blanket from the shed and returned to the house, pausing at the doorway.

"Come on, time you got back to bed" Eliza avoided Mr Weasley's gaze and followed Uncle Vernon back into the house.

As January blended into February Uncle Vernon had not tried to take Eliza to the shed again. After the doctor refused to give Eliza another prescription both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had bought special earplugs used in the military and simply left Eliza to her nightly screams.

Eliza had been sending all her classwork in by owl and was receiving average marks for her work, she was tired and the lethargy had leaked into her work. The only subject she had not touched was Transfiguration; she couldn't bear to even open the textbook.

In terms of letters she was doing a bit better, she had replied to most of her owls. Fred's letters had become distant and Eliza was worried he had given up on her. Hermione's owls were full of class notes rather than personal content and Eliza could tell that her friend was starting to panic about exams. Harry's letters were mainly questions about life at Privet Drive. The fact that nobody seem to give Eliza any indication about when she would return to Hogwarts made her fear the worst, it had been over a month already.

Eliza put down her quill and sighed slightly. The potions essay was taking too much time and she was starting to get frustrated. Aunt Petunia heard her exasperation and looked over at her.

"Is your work hard?" she asked quietly, as if she had always questioned Eliza about her schoolwork. Eliza looked over at her and nodded slightly. Petunia walked over to the table and looked down at the textbook,

"It's Potions isn't it?" she asked with her brow furrowed, Eliza nodded surprised.

"Your mother always liked that one. She didn't like the one with the plants though, she said they took too long to grow" Petunia smiled slightly and glanced over at one of her house plants.

"Do you still dream about what happened? Is that why you have nightmares?" Eliza looked up at her Aunt alarmed but the out of the blue question. Petunia looked right into Eliza's eyes, clearly expecting an answer. Eliza looked down at her book.

"It must have been horrible" said Petunia quietly,

"It was" said Eliza in such a quiet voice that it was almost a whisper, "I don't dream about it as much a Hog- school"

"That's probably because you're busy with work, you probably get more tired than you do here" Eliza nodded and was about to reply when there was a knock at the door.

"Put your books away and stay there" said Aunt Petunia in an abrupt return to her normal manner. Eliza obeyed her and looked up at the doorway to see Remus and Tonks walk in as if they had a planned appointment.

"Come on Eliza, let's get your stuff together" said Tonks brightly, Eliza looked to Remus for confirmation before she allowed her hopes to build too high.

"You're going back to Hogwarts Eliza; Professor Dumbledore sorted it all out. Come on let's get moving so Molly can fuss over you and we can Floo you back before dinner"

Eliza stood up quickly and followed Tonks upstairs, they arrived in the bedroom and Tonks cast her eyes around the room looking surprised at the sparse furnishings,

"Did you even unpack your trunk?" she asked as Eliza pulled it out from under the bed, Eliza shook her head and put the few books and clothes that she had unpacked back in the trunk.

"Come on then let's get going so you can have as much Valentine's Day snogging with Fred as you can fit in" Tonks snorted but Eliza looked up at her,

"It's Valentine's Day?" she asked quietly,

"Yeah, didn't your Aunt and Uncle get all soppy eyed over breakfast? My parents are disgusting; they act like horny teenagers, this one time…" Eliza tried to follow Tonks' story whilst trying to push the disturbing image of a horny Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia out of her head. Why hadn't she had a card from Fred?

When they reached the living room they heard Remus and Aunt Petunia in a seemingly heated debate,

"She could have brought a blanket that would have helped with her sleeping but she thought you would confiscate it!"

"She never mentioned it, what were we supposed to do with her screaming every night? Vernon has to work! Anyway the doctor never renewed the prescription so we had to get some earplugs so we could get some sleep…"

"And what about Eliza's welfare?" spat Remus dangerously,

"If you had got her back to school quicker then…"

"Ready to go!" Said Tonks brightly as she and Eliza entered the room, Aunt Petunia looked annoyed and Remus turned to look at Eliza critically,

"So you've not had any more sleeping tablets?" he demanded, Eliza shook her head and Petunia answered for her,

"I told you she hasn't had any for 4 weeks, why do you think she looks so tired?" Remus looked set to argue but Tonks interrupted,

"Let's get going Remus this isn't getting us anywhere"

"I want to go now Remus, please" said Eliza quietly looking at the floor, Remus nodded and the group made their way to the door. Eliza turned back to Aunt Petunia expecting her to have stayed in the living room.

"Good luck with your exams Eliza and…you can bring that blanket in the summer if it will help" Eliza smiled and nodded in thanks. As they left the door Eliza felt strange, she made a snap decision and turned to Remus.

"Can you just wait one second?" Without waiting for a reply she walked back in the house and found Aunt Petunia still standing in the living room looking lost in thought, she looked up when Eliza approached her.

"Umm…thanks for…thanks. I'll see you in the summer" Aunt Petunia nodded, smiled slightly and watched her niece walk out of the room. Maybe there was hope for them.  
***

"And you promise to go and see Madam Pomfrey before you go to bed?"

Eliza nodded and Mrs Weasley pulled her in for another hug,

"And you'll tell someone if you're worried ab…"

"Molly let her go!" said Arthur exasperated, Mrs Weasley had been issuing Eliza demands for 10 minutes and she was starting to repeat herself.

"Yes, of course you need to get back before dinner. Now make sure you eat…"

"Molly!" said Arthur smiling "Goodbye Eliza, see you in the summer".

"Here you go Eliza; you need to say 'Professor Dumbledore's office'. Have a good term". Remus gave Eliza a hug and passed her the Floo powder, she took it and stepped into the fireplace feeling the tickling sensation from the green flames.

"Professor Dumbledore's office!" said Eliza clearly before Mrs Weasley could give her any more requests. The whoosh of the flames surrounded her and she closed her eyes. After a few more seconds she felt her feet hit the floor and she opened them again.

"Welcome back Eliza, it's nice to have you back," said Professor Dumbledore smiling and indicating to a seat across from him. Eliza muttered a quiet thank you and took a seat.

"Now I'm sure you have more pleasant ways to spend this time but I have a few things that we need to discuss".

Eliza nodded but did not speak.

"First of all you will begin Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape tomorrow evening, Harry has already started but I'm sure you'll be able to catch up with him. Secondly you will begin Animagus training with Professor McGonagall on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I believe she will be contacting you before the end of the weekend to sort a few issues out with you herself".

Eliza blushed silently cursing herself for being so stubborn and not doing any Transfiguration studying.

"And finally Professor Umbridge is not pleased about you being back at Hogwarts but the pressure from the International federation of Wizengamot's that I was able to generate and the pressure inside Hogwarts from staff and students forced her to retract her suspension. It would be advisable to avoid her as much as possible. Her presence in this school is unfortunately unavoidable and she appears to be trying to gain as much control as possible, it would be foolish for her to target you again but that doesn't mean that she won't target your friends, perhaps a warning to those closest to you would be prudent."

Eliza nodded feeling guilty; Dumbledore must have sensed her concerns.

"It is not your fault Eliza, none of this has ever been your fault I trust that you know that?"

Eliza nodded again avoiding Dumbledore's gaze.

"Off you go, I'm sure Mr Weasley is waiting for you," Eliza stood up and was almost at the door when she turned around.

"Thank you Professor" she said firmly,

"You're welcome Eliza, you're always welcome at Hogwarts" Eliza smiled and left the room. As the she climbed down the stairs she could hear excited voices,

"…be too much longer!"

"She's probably still getting fussed over by my mom, you know what she's like" Eliza smiled and walked down the final few steps finding Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting for her.

"Eliza!" cried Harry before launching himself on her in a hug that was usually more expected from Mrs Weasley, Eliza hugged him back beaming.

"Hi Har…" she managed to stutter before Ron and Hermione joined in the group hug as well, she was home.

A/N Hi all, I hope everyone is well and that you enjoyed the chapter. The next one has a whole lot of Fred so get ready for it! It might be a couple of weeks because I've got a statistics test next week that will be taking up a lot of my free time, unfortunately. Please review!

Xxx

Allen Pitt- You'll hear more about the campaign in the next chapter.

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks!

XxyellowmellowxX- It's all about baby steps with Aunt Petunia, change takes time.

1945- She's home now :D

ForeverTeamEdward13- I think Petunia is scared of Vernon, divorce wouldn't go down well in her social circles.

Vampiremuggle- No she just didn't have much to say, she'll start coming out of herself now she's back at Hogwarts.

The Submarauder- Thanks, yeah I knew they were on C4 but now I'm living in the Netherlands I can't watch UK TV 'legally' on the internet, I'm really annoyed because Downton Abbey starts again on Sunday and I really want to see it!

Rainy27- Thanks

ImNotShortImHobbitSized- Thanks! I love your username!

sakuravampire-aqua- The Paralympics is the Olympics for people with disabilities, it's a real shame that its not televised as much as the Olympics. Yeah it's great in the Netherlands, just a bit more serious now I've started the course!

steffiii07- Thanks for both reviews, glad you're still enjoying it.

DaniPotterLovesGod- Thank you! You'll have to let me know the title when you publish it.

Cheekysorcerer- Thanks, I'm glad you like Eliza.

Shakira94- I'm glad you like the Petunia-Eliza relationship, it's the hardest one to write because it's so far from her book character.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Is there enough of a hug left for me?" came a small voice from outside the arrangement of limbs of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Eliza. Eliza looked up and saw Fred standing there with a rather attractive smirk on his face.

"Of course there is" said Ron laughing as he brought his brother into the mix.

"I rather think Fred meant…ouch Ron that was my foot!"

"Ok I think we all need to breath" said Harry sounding hoarse, the group fell back and Eliza tried to rearrange her hair.

"To the common room?" asked Harry as he tucked in his shirt.

"I'll be there in a while, I need some fresh air. Aunt Petunia's found a new air freshener scent and it's still contaminating my sense of smell" said Eliza wrinkling her nose.

"Great, we'll see you there in a bit" said Hermione firmly grabbing Harry and Ron by the elbow and leading them away,.

"The lake?" asked Fred as Eliza stepped towards him.

"The lake" confirmed Eliza as they headed to the entrance hall. The walk was silent and Eliza could feel her nerves starting to tense. As they reached the rock that was the perfect place to sit Fred melted the covering snow with his wand.

"There's no snow left in Surrey" Eliza said quietly.

"Hogwarts snow stays till early March, we're so far north" Fred lapsed into silence again and Eliza tried to find her voice again.

"Fred…I'm sorry about the letters, I know I should have written more but…"

"What was wrong with the letters? I thought they were fine, once you started writing them properly"

"Then why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not angry with you Eliza, what would…"

"Tell me what's going on Fred, you're acting…odd"

"I thought you wouldn't notice, you're too smart for your…"

"Don't patronise me Fred, just tell…"

"Ok ok, but it's not set in stone yet so don't freak out"

Eliza sat down on the rock fearing the worst.

"I…I might be leaving"

Eliza felt her mouth open in shock. After everything, after all that had happened he was going to leave her? He promised to be there for her, to never leave. Fred had become her rock in a world that was rapidly spinning out of her control, she tried to concentrate on what he was saying but her brain seemed foggy.

"…think its best…think about the future…and George agrees, it was his idea…"

"George told you to? I don't understand"

"Eliza I'm not like you"

"I thought that was a good…"

"You need Hogwarts it means more to you…"

"What's Hogwarts got to do with us?"

"Us, what do you…Oh Merlin you thought I was leaving you, Eliza I'm so sorry it came out wrong! I'm not leaving you, I love you I could never…"

"Then what are you talking about?" Eliza asked feeling almost dizzy with relief.

"Hogwarts. George and me, we're probably not going to be staying till the end of the year. We weren't going to come back for 7th year at all but then the war started and we didn't think mom could handle it if we left on top of Percy being a giant prat, and I didn't want to leave you so soon after everything. I don't know when it's going to happen, maybe not for another month or so"

Fred moved next to Eliza and put his arm round her, she rest her head on his shoulder and tried to calm herself. Leaving Hogwarts was fine but leaving her was…unimaginable.

"I really scared you there didn't I?" asked Fred looking worried,

"I just thought…" Fred leaned over and kissed his girlfriend firmly on the mouth. After a few moments Fred leaned back slightly.

"Happy Valentine's Day" said Fred smiling.

"Happy Valentine's Day" Eliza replied.

"Do you want some gossip?" Fred asked as Eliza leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Depends what it is, do I want to know?"

"It involves your brother and Valentine's Day."

"Intriguing, I should probably know then, for blackmailing reasons"

"He went to Hogsmeade with Cho Chang"

"Really? I thought she was still pretty messed up"

"She is, I don't think it went well. What was it like in Surrey?"

"It was alright actually, Aunt Petunia…she's different"

"She was nice?"

"I wouldn't go that far but she spoke to me a bit. I heard about your campaign, Remus told me"

"It was brilliant if I do say so myself. You wouldn't believe how many people care about you Eliza, only the Slytherin's didn't take part. The house cup is kind of obsolete this year. I doubt even McGonagall cares about it"

Eliza stiffened slightly at the mention of McGonagall, she tried to cover it up but Fred noticed.

"What's the matter?" he asked, frowning at her

"I…I haven't done any of my Transfiguration work"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, I was annoyed and then I was angry and then when I started doing all the other work I just couldn't bear to start Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall's going to be so angry with me"

"No she won't I'm sure she'll understand, you'll be able to catch up anyway" Eliza nodded and looked across at the lake, the sun was setting.

"Come on let's get to dinner" said Fred standing up and pulling Eliza up with him, they walked slowly back to the castle and by the time they reached the Great Hall the number of students was decreasing.

Eliza sat down next to Harry and started to serve herself. She could hear people muttering around her and she started to blush slightly.

"It's alright Eliza, they're pleased you're back" said Harry quietly, just as Neville joined the table.

"Eliza, great to have you back! How are you?" he asked.

"Glad to be back Neville, How are you?" Eliza whispered, she still wasn't entirely comfortable talking in the Great Hall.

"I'm good; Professor Sprout thinks I might be able to get an O for Herbology, me an O!"

Eliza smiled as the rest of the table congratulated him, Neville had always been an easy person for Eliza to be with, he never expected anything from her and it didn't seem to bother him that she didn't always reply to his questions.

"Miss Potter, Madam Pomfrey is expecting you when you have finished your dinner" Eliza turned around to acknowledge Professor McGonagall but she hurried off before she had even finished speaking, Eliza turned to Fred with a worried expression.

"Why have you got to go to the hospital wing?" Asked Harry, concerned.

"Aunt Petunia gave me some sleeping tablets for a few weeks and…"

"WHAT?" Roared Harry so loudly that Eliza dropped a spoon of scalding soup onto her lap, she cooled it instantly with her wand as they others rounded on Harry.

"Be quiet Harry, honestly do you want to give Umbridge an excuse to come over here?"

Thankfully Professor Umbridge appeared to be ignoring the ruckus at the Gryffindor table.

"I'm not taking them anymore the doctor wouldn't renew the prescription so Uncle Vernon ordered some earplugs from the internet and they just left me to it"

"Why didn't you have the blanket?"

"I don't want to talk about this here Harry. I'm fine Madam Pomfrey probably just wants to give me a check-up" Eliza put the spoon into her unfinished bowl of soup and made to leave the table.

"Where are you going?" Asked Fred.

"Madam Pomfrey"

"No, McGonagall said when you've finished your dinner. You haven't even finished your soup"

"You sound like Mom Freddie!" said George laughing, Fred did not join him but glared at Eliza until she sat down and finished her soup.

"Hermione will you come with me please?" Asked Eliza as the group left the hall.

"Of course" said Hermione looking pleased to be asked. The two friends made their way across the castle quietly, not needing many words.

When they reached the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey left her office and pointed Eliza to a bed,

"Now what's this I hear about Muggle potion tablets?" she asked sternly.

"Umm…I couldn't sleep so my aunt took me to a muggle healer. It was only a few weeks though, the healer wouldn't give me any more so my aunt and uncle got earplugs…to block out the noise…and just left me to it. I haven't had any in 3 weeks. I've got my blanket back now though so…"

"Well…it appears to be out of your system. Come and see me if the blanket isn't working. Professor Flitwick said that it's offended by your lack of belief in its powers. Moonstone blankets are sensitive Miss Potter, try and have a bit more belief." Eliza nodded and made to leave but Madam Pomfrey held her back.

"Wait for a few moments, Professor McGonagall would like a word" Eliza nodded and sat back down as Madam Pomfrey retreated into her office, Hermione sat down next to the bed.

"I've missed you Eliza, It was horrible just being with the boys, I spoke to Luna Lovegood a few times she has such crazy ideas"

"Miss Potter, Miss Granger" said Professor McGonagall as she entered the Hospital wing, Hermione greeted the teacher but Eliza remained silent, looking at the floor.

"Well Miss Potter, I can only assume that you have 5 weeks' worth of essays to give me"

"No Professor, I'm sorry I couldn't…just couldn't do my Transfiguration…I don't know why" Eliza felt a tear threatening to fall and hastily wiped it away.

"Detention, tomorrow afternoon before your Occlumency lesson with Professor Snape. Bring your textbooks and we'll make a start at 3, understood" Eliza nodded and watched Professor McGonagall walk away hating the disappointment that was hanging in the air.

A/N Massive apologies for the delay but this degree is really hard! I'll try and update as often as I can and I promise that I will never abandon this story. I've managed to plan the end of DH and I can't wait to write it! Please review, it always helps me write faster.

Allen Pitt- Hope this explained Fred's distance.

XxyellowmellowxX- Eliza has actually got a happy-ish few months ahead!

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- I'm starting to like writing Aunt Petunia

vampiremuggle- Glad you enjoyed the chapter

DaniPotterLovesGod- Thanks

Shakira94- Would I split them up?

Rainy27- Thanks, keep reading

1945- Her grades will start to improve, mostly…

sakuravampire-aqua- Thanks, the course is going well it's just really hard!

Leafstone- Thanks

Unicornsarereal- American equivalent of git? Idiot maybe?

Dalonega Noquisi- It was happy Fred-ness, hope you enjoyed it


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Eliza knocked on the door of Professor McGonagall's office feeling incredibly nervous.

"Come in" Eliza opened the door and walked into the office almost tripping over her own feet.

"Take a seat Miss Potter; we'll start with chapter 7. Read the chapter and then answer the questions" said Professor McGonagall not looking up from her pile of marking. Eliza sat down, pulled out her textbook and began to read.

After a few pages Eliza started to feel her nerves soften and began to enjoy the text. After about an hour Eliza was almost finished with the questions when she heard Professor McGonagall get up and walk around the desk.

"Right you seem to have made a good start on that, hand it in to me tomorrow during class. Now let's begin some of your animagus training. Do you remember the reading that you did over Christmas?"

"Yes Professor" replied Eliza,

"Did you understand it?"

"Mostly, there was one part that confused me though"

"What was that?"

"When Flinbird describes the allocation of animagus creatures he said that everyone has one, does that mean that all wizards and witches could become animagi?"

Professor McGonagall looked slightly impressed with Eliza's thought process,

"Every witch and wizard has the potential to become animagi; it is our choices far more than our abilities that determine our success. While fate determines out chosen animal for 99% of people it will never be realised"

Eliza nodded thinking it over,

"Let's have a pot of tea and then we can find out what your animal will be before we go to see Professor Snape"

Eliza had forgotten about her Occlumency lesson, she paled slightly as the realisation of what was to come washed over her.

"Sugar?" asked Professor McGonagall bringing Eliza out of her thoughts,

"No thank you" she replied pulling herself together.

Professor McGonagall passed her the tea and she took a sip building up the courage to say what she really needed to.

"Professor I…I'm really sorry that I didn't do the work"

"I'm sure you are considering how far behind you are now" said Professor McGonagall briskly,

"No I don't mean that, I'm sorry that…I just couldn't bring myself to do…It would have made me miss…I'm sorry Professor" Professor McGonagall looked slightly taken aback and put her cup back on the table.

"I am sorry that you were sent home Miss Potter, now let's find out what animal you'll be shall we? Any ideas?"

Eliza felt that the air had been sufficiently cleared to allow a small smile,

"I'm not sure; I hope it's not something big, I wouldn't want to be too noticeable"

"Understandable, the smaller forms are usually easier to disguise. Now the spell you need to say is _Vera forma_. Hopefully we will see a projection of your form and we will be able to study the animal before you attempt transforming, ready?"

Eliza nodded and pulled out her wand,

"Vera forma" she whispered with her eyes closed, she felt a whoosh of energy within her and she opened her eyes knowing immediately what she would see.

A red squirrel danced around on the table between Eliza and Professor McGonagall, it's colouring was slightly lighter than Eliza's hair but the eyes were identical. After a few seconds the squirrel vanished and Eliza looked up at her teacher.

"Excellent Miss Potter, a Red squirrel how prudent. They are quiet, secretive but had a deviant streak its perfect"

"Before I opened my eyes I knew what it would be, I hadn't even considered a squirrel but I knew before I opened my eyes"

The two finished there cups of tea whilst discussing the developments. After they had finished there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" said Professor McGonagall casually flicking her wand and vanishing all the evidence of their animagus research. The door opened and Professor Snape came through.

"Severus I thought we were coming to…"

"Change of plan Minerva, she's been hovering around the dungeons all day so I thought it would be safer to have it up here." The look on McGonagall's face left Eliza in no doubt who 'she' was.

"Very well, I'll clear some space" At once all the furniture was cleared to the side and McGonagall's small office seemed to swell slightly. She took a seat to the side and looked up at Snape waiting for him to start.

"Knowing you Miss Potter I presume you have done some research on Occlumency?" Eliza nodded,

"I'm sure your brother has informed you that he has no natural talent in the field whatsoever but hopefully you will be different. I want you to imagine a brick wall and try and focus on the wall alone. I will attempt to access your mind, are you ready?"

Eliza nodded again and focussed on the imaginary wall.

"_Leglimens_"

_The wall, the brick wall…_

_The cupboard being locked after…._

_The wall, the brick wall…_

_The wall of the Chamber of Secrets…_

_The wall, just the brick wall…_

_Voldemort's cry of anger when the portkey whisked them back to safety…._

_The wall, just focus on the wall…_

_Voldemort taunting her…_

Suddenly the stream of memories stopped and Eliza was thrown back in the office, she landed on a soft cushion and sat up confused.

Professor McGonagall was stood up with her wand outstretched; Professor Snape was covered in what appeared to be foam bricks.

"Severus are..?"

"I'm fine, good reaction Minerva. I had forgotten about the power of Miss Potter's magic and the affinity she had with brick walls"

"Miss Potter are you ok?" Eliza stood up, feeling slightly dizzy,

"I'm fine, what happened?"

"You conjured a wall, a wand-less wall in fact. If it hadn't transfigured the bricks into foam…" Professor McGonagall let the sentence hang and moved over to help Professor Snape to his feet.

"We'll try that again Miss Potter, this time focus on…a colour" Eliza nodded and planned to focus on yellow.

"_Leglimens_"

_Yellow….yellow…yellow…orange…yellow…orange…Fred….Fred's hair…Fred's smile….Yellow_

Again the illusion cleared and this time the room appeared unchanged.

"Better Miss Potter, much better. I saw yellow which changed into orange which morphed into Mr Weasley at which point the connection broke. You have a natural ability for Occlumency"

"But what about the visions and the dreams?" Asked Professor McGonagall looking slightly relieved,

"It must be the twin bond. Miss Potter it would benefit your brother if you attempted to clear your mind before you sleep. Try and focus on a colour, perhaps not yellow I am sure Mr Potter could do without that line of thought progressing too far"

Eliza blushed but nodded at Professor Snape attempting to hold back a smile. Perhaps blue would be safer.

A/N I know I haven't updated in over a month but this chapter was proving elusive and my master's course is really hard! Hopefully I'll get chance to update over Christmas but if I don't have a very merry Christmas.

Please keep reviewing, it really makes my day!

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks for the support!

Allen Pitt- Prepare for the pranking…

sakuravampire-aqua- Thanks, how are things going for you?

XxyellowmellowxX- Thanks and sorry for the delay.

1945- She knows she's talented but she lacks the confidence to fully exploit it.

Vampiremuggle- Thanks, I'm glad it scared you it was fun to write!

CelticCrossings- Thanks

Dalonega Noquisi- Thanks, keep reading!

Bowling4real- Sorry for the delay, studies got in the way.

Eliza125- I can't wait to write the 7th book, I'm looking forward to HBP just need to finish OOTP it's really dragging on!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"You mean you can actually do it? Keep him out of your mind?" asked Harry as they walked towards the lake,

"He could still see some of the…some of it but he said I was better than you. He thinks it's the twin bond that gives me the dreams, I have to focus on a colour before I go to sleep"

"A colour? He told me to…"

"Picture a wall I know but when I tried it I conjured a wall and if Professor McGonagall hadn't been there it would probably have really hurt him. So I have to focus on blue"

"Blue, I thought you would have picked yellow?" Asked Harry struggling to contain a snort at the thought of a brick wall hurtling towards the Potions Master.

"I did but it kept changing to orange and then to…a gingery orange and…"

"Oh, maybe blue is safer then" said Harry looking uncomfortable.

"So how did it go with Cho?" Eliza asked sitting down on a tree stump,

"Oh…Fred told you. Well it was ok to begin with, we talked about Quidditch but then we ran out of conversation and she started to talk about…about Cedric. It was really awkward"

"I can imagine, what did you say?"

"Well she wanted to know if he'd mentioned her before he died..." said Harry quietly dancing around the edges of a topic that even months later they never discussed.

"Did you tell her there wasn't time? He didn't even…So are you going out with her again?"

Harry picked up a stone and threw it into the lake watching it bounce along the surface.

"I don't know, she got upset when I said I was meeting Hermione to do the interview and…"

"What interview?" asked Eliza confused,

"Oh…she didn't tell you…I thought she might have mentioned…"

"What interview Harry?" asked Eliza standing up and moving into his line of vision,

"I did an interview with Rita Skeeter about what happened…in the tournament. I thought Hermione had talked about it with you!" Added Harry defensively as he saw Eliza's face darken in anger.

"It was Hermione's idea? I don't understand why would you go along with it, why would you tell Rita Skeeter of all people?"

"Eliza I'm sick of being called a liar. I just wanted to put across my side of the…"

"My, I…In case you forgot Harry I was there too, I can't understand why you would do this! We don't even talk about it why would you go to the press without even say..."

"Well do you want to talk about it?"

"It's a bit late now; everyone's going to know what happened, what's the point in us talking about it!"

"Eliza wait!" Harry called after her but Eliza blocked him out, she was so angry she didn't even know where to go. She looked around and spotted Hagrid's cabin, she walked over to it hastily wiping away some angry tears.

"Eliza! I heard you were back, you look like you could do with a cup of tea, come on…Get down Fang!"

Eliza manoeuvred away around the Boarhound and sat down in one of the chairs next to the fire,

"I bet yer glad to be back, actually you look at bit hacked off to be honest"

"I'm fine…just had a…disagreement with Harry"

"Ah the joys of siblings. So how have you been? Everyone's so pleased to have you back, never heard the school so quiet. Fred's campaign was amazing. Still it's nice to hear the kids again, it was a bit creepy."

"I heard about it, can't believe that so many people would…"

"Enough Eliza, yer very popular. Now come tell me all about it"

Twenty minutes later Eliza left Hagrid's and made her way up to the school feeling slightly better Hagrid had been a good listener.

As she entered the common room she found it to be unexpectedly empty, she made her way over to her friends and within seconds of her reaching the group Hermione had launched upon her in a fierce embrace.

"I'm so sorry Eliza, I thought you wouldn't mind"

Eliza pulled back from the embrace and looked at Hermione's teary face and surprisingly felt no sympathy,

"That's the problem Hermione, you don't think about how you affect people" Hermione looked shocked by Eliza's frankness and took a step back,

"Come on Eliza, Hermione didn't mean…" said Ron standing up and moving towards Hermione.

"Don't you understand Hermione? I thought you…"

"Harry didn't talk about you too much, he kept it about him"

"But it wasn't just him there Hermione…I was there too" Eliza croaked feeling her voice fade,

"I know Eliza but…"

"Hermione please, stop the interview being printed. Write to Luna's father, stop it!"

Eliza turned around intending to storm up to the dormitory and write in her diary but instead she slammed straight into Fred, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the common room.

It was past curfew but Fred seemed to know where he was going so Eliza just let him drag her through the corridors.

They ended up on the seventh floor and Eliza knew that Fred was taking her to the Room of Requirement. He stopped walking and walked past the same spot three times. Eliza watched in fascination as the door materialised.

As they walked into the room Eliza felt her jaw drop, they appeared to have walked into a large sitting room, it was similar to the Gryffindor Common room but there was only one sofa, and a roaring fire. Two hot chocolates sat steaming on a table near a foot stool.

Eliza turned around and kissed Fred firmly on the lips, she felt his initial hesitation but then he relaxed and kissed her back with a passion that she had never known. After a few minutes he pulled back, he lifted his hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I've missed you Eliza"

"I missed you too, it didn't feel right. Why did you bring me here Fred?"

Fred sighed and pulled her over to the sofa, they sat down and Fred held Eliza's hand and seemed to be building up to say something. Eliza's nerves started to stretch.

"Eliza…Eliza I promised myself that I'd never ask you this but…I think you need to tell me…we need to move forward"

Eliza furrowed her brow, confused.

"Eliza I need you to tell me what happened, in the graveyard"

Eliza froze.

"It's not going to change how I feel about you Eliza, you need to tell me. It's eating you alive. Have you ever told anyone?"

"You know what happened, Harry told everyone at Grimmauld Place"

"You need to tell me Eliza, you have to tell som…"

"I told Professor McGonagall"

"Please Eliza, please tell me" Fred's voice cracked,

"I…I…I love you Fred I don't want anything to…"

"I won't think any less of you; I love you Eliza Potter, scars and all"

"Sometimes it's hard…now that I'm talking…It's still hard to put order to words"

"Let me help you" Fred leaned in for a kiss and Eliza responded, it wasn't a passionate kiss, but somehow it held more love that any of their previous embraces.

When Eliza returned to the dormitory hours later she had a feeling of relief, relief and the promise of a dreamless sleep, well maybe a dream that involved some yellow, and perhaps a bit of orange.

A/N Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas. I have a free week coming up and I intend to write my little socks off and finally finish OOTP and start HBP. This is the last chapter that deals with the end of tournament, after this point Eliza will move forwards in leaps and bounds. Please let me know what you think!

Bowling4real- Sorry for the delay

sakuravampire-aqua- Thanks, how are you getting on?

Leafstone- Thanks, keep reading!

Allen Pitt- Get ready for the pranking, feel free to send me ideas!

ForeverTeamEdward13- Thanks

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks, sorry for the wait

vampiremuggle- Thanks, I love writing scenes with McGonagall

Amy Pond-Lovegood- Thanks. From your name I suspect you are a Dr Who fan, what did you think of the Xmas special? Who knew snowmen could be so scary!

Emberscar- Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Eliza woke early and immediately felt a wave of guilt. The sun wasn't full up but she still pulled herself out of bed and went for a shower. By the time she reached the common room the sun rise had bathed the room in an early morning glow. Pulling out her Transfiguration textbook she made a start on the essay that was due for the end of the week.

After a few minutes she heard footsteps making their way down the stairs and she knew who it was before looking,

"Morning Harry" she said innocently, refusing to look up.

"Eliza how many times do we have to go through this? Think of blue, or green or red…no wait not red! Just try Eliza it's the fourth time this week I've had that dream and…Blue, remember blue!"

"I'll try to remember, but you need to stop thinking about that door".

"Dreaming of a door is a bit different than…"

"He's sending you that door for a reason Harry; try to clear your mind. Don't let him in".

"I didn't dream of…"

"Don't lie Harry, you were dreaming about Quidditch and then Professor Sprout confiscated your broom and she sent you to wait by the door" said Eliza without looking up from her parchment.

"Is there anything we can do about this twin dream bond thing, it's really starting to…"

"Don't tell me you dreamed about me again Harry? You're going to start people talking" Fred joined the group and gave Eliza a solid kiss on the mouth, Harry squirmed.

"Look its bad enough I have to dream about this stuff I don't need to see if when I'm awake as well" said Harry looked annoyed,

"Maybe it will give you more incentive to practice Occlumency".

"I'm trying, when's the joint lesson again?"

"Saturday night and don't forget it's Ron's birthday, have you got his present yet?"

"I can make Ron happy by making you and Hermione friends again" he muttered looking at the staircase to check they were alone.

"We are friends" replied Eliza stiffening slightly,

"Best friends?" Harry persisted,

"I'd stay out of it if I were you mate, getting in the middle of Eliza and Hermione- imagine if they both drew wands" Harry paled slightly at the thought and Fred laughed.

"Anyway there's something I want to ask you about Eliza. Now that Umbridge is ignoring you like the plague, can you come to the DA meeting, there's one on…"

"No" said Eliza firmly, refusing to hear the time of the meeting, "You know how important those meetings are for people, you're teaching them to defend themselves. I won't put that at risk, besides I'm busy with Transfiguration as well as OWL revision".

"Eliza's right" said Hermione interrupting the group, Eliza looked away and began to gather up her things.

"You don't have to…" started Hermione looking uncomfortable.

"It's time for breakfast" said Eliza coldly.

As soon as the group reached the Great Hall Eliza knew that something was different, whispers followed them as they sat at the Gryffindor table.

"What's going on?" said Ron as he caught up with them.

"Oh I'm glad you're all here, Daddy sent you them paper with the interview in. He said you don't have to pay this time but if you want a subscription it's 6 sickles a month" Luna sat down at the table seemingly unaffected by the strange looks from the Gryffindor's looking at her as if she had crossed some invisible line.

Hermione leaned over and snatched the paper from Luna, tearing it open she looked quite manic as her eyes scanned the interview, after a few moments of anxious silence Hermione looked up her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"It doesn't mention you Eliza; I promise it doesn't mention you. Please, please I miss you", Hermione passed Eliza the paper for inspection and scanned the article; the group was silently waiting for the verdict.

"Let's go for a walk" said Eliza quietly to Hermione as she passed the paper to Harry.

The girls were silent until they reached the lake, at which point Hermione began to sob hysterically,

"Hermione, Hermione calm down, it will be ok. I was just annoyed because…"

"Hermione listen to me, what…" At this point it became clear to Eliza that something else was going on with Hermione, she was distraught. Eliza pulled her into a hug and it took a good ten minutes for the muggleborn witch to compose herself enough to wipe her tears away and blow her nose.

"I'm sorry Eliza, I'm so sorry I'm a mess at the moment".

"What's going on Hermione?"

"I'm…I'm just so worried about my OWL's, I know it's stupid with everything else that's going on but…my parents, it thought if I could prove to my parents that I'm smart in this world as well as theirs then maybe…"

"Are you parents annoyed with you?" Eliza asked concerned,

"I sent them an owl saying that I was planning on staying here for Easter to prepare for the OWL's and my dad sent a letter back saying…he said if I cared that much I could stay here for the summer too!" Hermione dissolved into tears again and Eliza started stroking her back carefully.

"Hermione he was probably just disappointed that he wasn't going to see you…"

"But that's just it Eliza! Their always disappointed in me, that's why…that's why I'm so annoying…"

"Hermione you're not annoying!" said Eliza indignantly,

"That's…that's what Ron said".

"Ron always speaks before he thinks, what were you doing when he said it?"

"I was…I was trying to get him to finish his essay…I suppose I probably was annoying him".

"Hermione it's not that he finds you annoying, it's that he doesn't know what he finds anymore".

"What?" Luckily perhaps for Eliza the bell rang and the girls stood up and brushed off their robes to head back into the school.

As they moved into the corridor Fred appeared as if he had just apparated, he grabbed Eliza's hand and kissed her on the cheek.

"Let's go the long way to History of Magic girls; I've got something to show you".

"Don't you have a lesson to get to?" asked Hermione as she tried in vain to wipe away the rest of the tears, Eliza turned to her and cast a quick charm to calm her red cheeks, she smiled in return.

"Free period so I am walking my beautiful girlfriend and my favourite prefect to observe a new product in action".

"What about Umbridge, if she finds Eli…"

"Calm down Hermione, Umbridge is meeting the Minister for a morning meeting, probably trying to figure out how to get rid of Professor Dumbledore so we decided to do a trial run for this".

As they turned the corner Eliza felt her jaw drop open, the corridor appeared to have inverted and everyone seemed to be walking on the ceiling.

"Fred…that's extraordinary! How…"

"Now now, Miss Granger a true magician never reveals their secrets" said George appearing from nowhere.

"It's pretty cool isn't it?" asked Fred looking ecstatic.

"My words precisely Mr Weasley," came a calm voice from behind them.

"Professor Dumbledore sir…" Said Fred beginning to panic slightly,

"I'm sure it won't last long, better make the most of it" said the Headmaster and he walked straight into the corridor of chaos looking quite delighted at the magic and the confusion it had ensued.

A/N Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've planned right up to the end of OOTP which should be done in about 5 chapters, just need to find time to write it! Please keep the review coming xxx

sakuravampire-aqua- Glad you're enjoying it and hope you're feeling bettervampiremuggle- ThanksLiquidLuck007-Thanks, sorry for the delayEmberscar- Thanks, i'll try and update sooner but this degree is hard!cheekysorcerer- You're welcome, glad you're enjoying itRyn of Magic- Thanks for all the reviews! I did think of a cat but i decided that something a bit rare would be better.dream lighting- Thanks for the review, it reminded me to finish the chapter! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I still can't believe he's gone" said Hermione putting down her quill in frustration, Harry looked across at her and nodded.

"I know, it's all my fa…"

"It's not your fault Harry," interrupted Ron looking annoyed, they were working in the library during their lunch break and the conversation had started to circle.

Eliza glanced at her watch and starting packing up her things.

"Are you going to career advice with McGonagall?" asked Ron.

"Yep, I don't know how long it will take so I might not see you until Defence against the Dark Arts."

"You still haven't told us what you want to do when you've finished Hogwarts," said Hermione looking up from her Charms essay.

"Haven't I?" Eliza muttered before picking up her bag, leaving the table and walking out of the library.

So much had happened in the past 2 months, even in the last week that Eliza felt like her head was spinning. She couldn't believe that Dumbledore was now on the run from the ministry and Umbridge was in charge, the thought of that woman in Dumbledore's office made her feel faintly nauseous.

As she made her way towards Professor McGonagall's office she felt the leaflet in her pocket with trepidation, she had no idea if the career choice would suit her but she knew that the field appealed to her more than any of the others. The boys may want to become Auror's but Eliza couldn't think of anything worse than constantly looking over your shoulder and ending up scarred and paranoid like Mad-Eye Moody.

Reaching the office Eliza knocked on the door and took a steadying breath.

"Come in" Eliza pushed the door open and walked in; Professor McGonagall smiled at her and indicated to the seat across from her.

"Miss Potter, take a seat. As you can see we have a visitor observing us today so we'll have to communicate the old-fashioned way." Eliza furrowed her brow in confusion before turning and being assaulted by an array of pink that indicated the presence of the new Headmistress.

"I hardly think you can class me as a visitor Minerva" said Umbridge smugly.

"Don't you. Well Miss Potter have you given any thought as to what you'd like to do when you finish Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall pushed a sheet of parchment and quill across the desk but Eliza simply pulled the crumpled leaflet out of her pocket and presented it to the teacher instead.

"The department of Mysteries?" Said Professor McGonagall picking up the leaflet and smoothing it down slightly,

"I have to say I'm impressed Miss Potter, it seems a very suitable career choice for you…"

_Hem hem_

"You'll have to continue with Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes and I suggest that you take up Care of Magical Creatures as…"

_Hem hem_

"You obviously won't have time to get a NEWT in it but you should be able to get an OWL, I'll speak to Professor Hagrid and ask him to speak to you about the course load. It's difficult to know what skills the department look for each year but working on a project in your final year will definitely help to show your commitment to research, have you thought about what area to specialise in?"

Eliza picked up the quill and scribbled on the parchment; Professor Umbridge stood up and walked over to the desk to look at the writing,

"Transfiguration, obviously you have a natural talent and passion for it so we can…"

"Minerva I must interject!"

"Must you Dolores?"

"There is no point in you giving this girl false hope, she will never get a job at the ministry with her refusal to talk and her aptitude to lying when she actually finds her voice!"

"Miss Potter does not lie. The end of her time at Hogwarts is 2 years away and by then many things may be different; please allow me to continue offering advice!"

Professor Umbridge blew air out of her nose looking ready to charge but instead she held her tongue and remained standing next to the desk.

"We can work on formulating a suitable Transfiguration project for you next year so at the moment focus on your Potions and Charms marks, you'll need to get at least an E at Charms to progress into NEWT classes and at the moment Professor Flitwick has noted that your practical work needs improving. You'll also need an O in Potions to get into NEWT level and you're averaging an E at the moment."

"What about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Miss Potter is bordering on a P, she'll never pass the OWL!"

"I'm sure Miss Potter will fare much better in Defence against the Dark Arts when an adequately trained teacher returns to the school, perhaps you should advertise?"

"That's out of line Minerva; do you really think that questioning my authority is wise?"

"Well it's hardly the time to discuss it. Miss Potter you're marks in Herbology are excellent and Professor Sprout has noted that you have a talent for the subject, Mr Longbottom is starting a short project for extra credit and Professor Sprout has invited you to join him, it would look good on your application but if you don't have time I understand?"

Eliza knew that Professor McGonagall was alluding to the fact that Eliza already had animagus and Occlumency lessons (though the latter were thankfully reducing in both frequency and duration) outside of classes. Nevertheless Eliza indicated that she would like to work on the project, it would be nice to spend some time with Neville again.

10 minutes later Eliza was walking away from Professor McGonagall's office trying not to smile at the continuing sounds of McGonagall shouting at Umbridge and Umbridge's furious defence.

During dinner Fred squeezed into a seat next to Eliza and planted a firm kiss on her cheek,

"How did it go?" he asked as he piled some stew onto his plate.

"Good, she thought it was a good idea."

"Are you ever going to tell us what it is?" asked Harry looking annoyed that Fred knew and he didn't.

"Perhaps" said Eliza smiling.

"Fred you ready?" asked George sitting opposite and also piling stew onto his plate.

"It's all set, just need to…"

"Go, do it now" said George, Fred nodded and stood up pulling Eliza with him.

"Come on, I need to talk to you."

By the time they reached the lake Eliza knew what was coming.

"Tonight?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's time. I've tried to put it off as long as possible but everything's set now, I'm going to miss you so much Eliza."

"Show me how much Fred" said Eliza with much more bravado than she felt, Fred pulled her into a kiss like no other she had ever experienced. It was full of passion and promise and when they pulled apart Fred had tears running down his face.

"When you come home over the summer we're going to spend whole days doing that, and eating ice cream and walking through the fields."

"Won't you be busy with the shop?" Eliza asked, wiping the tear off his face.

"I'll take time off, I'm never going to be too busy for you, I love you more than anything in the entire universe"

After a few more blissful kisses Fred disappeared back into the school and advised Eliza to wait 10 minutes in the library before moving to the entrance hall. She followed his orders without question. As she walked to the library she marvelled at the spell work that the fireworks had taken, it was art and she was so proud of Fred, and George, for creating them in spite of what their appearance was about to cost them, and her.

A/N Hi Everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep the reviews coming, my course is going well but is very time consuming, hence the lack of writing, so please be patient!

dream lighting- We will hear more about the chaos that the twins caused but through flashbacks rather than direct.

Ryn of Magic- Dumbledore hadn't left at that point so he was just observing some pranking

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks, luckily there's only a few chapters of OOTP left so Fred will be back soon!

Vampiremuggle- Thanks

sakuravampire-aqua- I'm glad you're getting better and still enjoying the chapters

Allen Pitt- Yes I always thought that Hermione's parents should figure more in the story, I know their muggles but Hermione must have missed them more than she said (excluding DH when she obviously missed them).

Mozie- Glad you're enjoying the story, I can't promise Eliza won't get hurt though, I love Madam Pomfrey!

Emberscar- Thanks for the update it reminded me that I needed to finish the chapter, keep reviewing!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Even a month later wherever Eliza went the school was still elated from the manner of Fred and George's exit, it seemed to have stirred an underground rebellion and Umbridge was starting to show the strain. Her hair seemed to be getting greyer and her educational decrees had become so ridiculous that even the teachers didn't seem to be enforcing them.

The fifth years were in the middle of their OWL's and Eliza was desperately trying to focus on revision and not the school's issues.

"Eliza are you ready for Transfiguration?" asked Hermione, briefly looking up from her Astronomy notes,

"Eliza was born ready for Transfiguration" said Harry crossing out some of his Divination notes grumpily.

"I'm focussing on Astronomy I should be ok with Transfiguration but I'm still struggling with some of the constellations"

"Don't forget Transfiguration will be more important in your career though…" said Ron looking curious,

"Nice try Ron but I'm still not telling you, maybe if you worked harder at Divination you'd already know" Ron laughed and did not return to his work,

"Come on let's get some dinner" he said folding up his parchment of revision notes.

As they reached the Great Hall Hagrid walked up to them beaming,

"Eliza! Professor McG…" he began but Eliza signalled frantically to him and he stopped speaking just has he reached them. Ron, Hermione and Harry looked at Eliza in confusion.

"Professor McGonagall what?" asked Harry hotly, hating being out of the loop as usual. Eliza glanced behind Hagrid at the staff table quickly coming up with a lie.

"She wants to see me Hagrid? Do you want to walk with me?" Hagrid looked bemused but nodded still trying to contain his excitement,

"I'll see you later"

"Why does Hagrid…"

"Come on Harry, they have treacle tart" said Hermione giving Eliza a look that indicated that she knew something was up and she wanted full details later. Harry looked towards the dinner table to confirm Hermione's claim before grumpily walking off. Ron lingered behind.

"I know something's up" he muttered before he too succumbed to the smells wafting in from the Great Hall.

"What was that about Eliza?" said Hagrid as they moved aside "Professor McGonagall doesn't want to see you"

"I know but she was the only teacher not at the staff table that would be likely to want to see me. I had to lie quickly; I haven't told them about…about my career plans"

"Come on lets go down to the cabin, Professor McGonagall will probably be along soon so yer lie won't last long, yer very like yer dad sometimes Eliza"

"Really?" asked Eliza as they stepped out into the cool night air,

"Not fer yer secret keeping mind, he couldn't keep anything a secret. He was always quick with a cover story though" Hagrid smiled slightly, appearing to be lost in a memory.

They reached the cabin and Hagrid set about making some tea and Eliza sat at the table and made a fuss of Fang.

"So yer want to be an Unspeakable then?" Hagrid asked as he poured the tea,

"I think so…I just like research. Do you think I'll be able to get an OWL in Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Of course yer will, I'll set yer some reading over the summer and yer can join my OWL class and get some extra credit work next year, let's see if I can rustle up some dinner" Eliza breathed a sigh of relief that was only slightly masked by the thought of Hagrid's cooking.

When her stomach had had its full Eliza made her excuses and walked back up to the school. She still had a few hours before the Astronomy exam and she intended to do her maximum amount of cramming.

She entered the common room and was unsurprised to find it more subdued than normal, she spotted Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny working in a corner and she headed over to them.

"Hey Eliza, did you have a good meeting with McGonagall?" asked Harry wryly,

"I had a good meeting" Eliza responded evasively, Ginny grinned and pulled an envelope out of her bag.

"You've got a letter from Fred, he sent it in my letter to give it a bit more protection from the toad" Eliza smiled and took the letter putting it in her bag to read it after the exam; she couldn't afford Fred to distract her now.

"Eliza I think we need to focus on the constellations to the north because…." Hermione was showing her pre-exam stress and Eliza knew the only way to calm her down was to follow her orders so they slowly worked through her plans. Ginny left them at 11.30 and wished them all luck.

"Let's go" said Ron looking sheepish, for all his bravado he always looked the whitest before exams. They exited to portrait hole and nearly collided with Professor McGonagall,

"Ah there you are, are you off to your exam?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall" said Hermione looking nervous again,

"I'll walk with you, Miss Potter our new headmistress has scheduled a meeting tomorrow morning during breakfast so I won't get chance to see you before your Transfiguration NEWT, just remember to focus and work on the spells before breakfast just to refresh your mind"

"Yes Professor" said Eliza nodding,

"Good, now if that woman is in the exam don't let her get to you. She's only scheduled the morning meeting to impact the exam but you've done the work and you will get an Outstanding, do you hear me?"

"Umm..."

"Come on Eliza!" said Harry looking annoyed by Eliza's lack of confidence,

"Yes…yes I will pass the…"

"A what Eliza?" asked Ron with a shaky smile on his face,

"An outstanding" Eliza muttered trying not to say it like a question.

"Excellent, then I shall see you all at lunch tomorrow. Good luck with Astronomy, Miss Granger, take a few deep breaths before you pick up your quill"

Hermione nodded taking a breath and Professor McGonagall left the group at the foot of the tower.

"You have 2 hours to complete the exam, you may begin" Professor Tufty seemed delighted to pronounce the start of the exam and there was a ruffle of pages as everyone opened their exam papers.

After an hour Eliza was just about to plot the location of one of the planets when the door opened several floors below them flooding the foot of the tower with light. Eliza glanced down and noticed a group of men walking across the grounds towards Hagrid's cabin. A few strides behind them the new headmistress followed them in her usual attire of sickening pink.

Eliza felt an uneasy sensation in her stomach and she glance at Harry who also appeared to be watching the scene below.

Loud voices made their way up to the tower and the examiner tried to keep the students focused on the exam.

When the wand flashes started few people were looking in their telescopes. Hagrid appeared to be putting up a good fight thanks to his part-giant DNA. The doors to the castle opened again and Eliza watched Professor McGonagall run across the grounds towards the fight.

Eliza looked on in horror as the strips of red light hit Professor McGonagall squarely in the chest. The students gasped as the teacher was illuminated briefly before being thrown back several feet. She landed at the foot of the tower and did not stir.

A/N Hi Everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter it was very difficult to write due to time and creativity constraints. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up soon. Please review!

dream lighting- Thanks, Fred will be back soon (nearly finished with OOTP, finally!)

DaniPotterLovesGod- Thanks, I think I'm actually going to miss writing Umbridge.

Ryn of Magic- Eliza thrives on research as you will see in HBP

Angel JJK- Thanks

sakuravampire-aqua- Thanks, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter, it should have some big stuff in there.

Allen Pitt- I always thought that, it's amazing that Umbridge kept her job at the ministry. I can only imagine that money exchanged hands…

Mozie- I don't follow the books exactly for a few reasons. I think Eliza's presence would slightly alter the timeline of the books especially making Fred stay at school slightly longer. Also I don't have OOTP with me at uni at the moment because I only had space for one book (It was a very difficult decision but I chose HBP) so I'm relying on memory and websites to work on the order. Thankfully we'll start HBP soon so it will be easier for me to write.

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks

Kitsune Kayls- Thanks, Fred is back soon!

Emberscar- Thanks, sorry for the delay

Black Stars- Thanks for your lovely review it really helped me conquer my writers block!

PandaPuppet- Thanks for the review. Tips….make sure you have a good plan otherwise you can get lost in the details and forget the main goal.

PopiAle- Thanks

Ohnoestadpoles- Thanks, I hope you like this chapter too

Mimi81- Thanks

RAIKIM4everlover- Thanks, keep reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Eliza watched as Professor McGonagall was carried off on a stretcher whilst the examiner tried to convince the students to return to their star charts. The remainder of the exam seemed to take an age.

When the exam was finished Hermione and Ron walked over to the twins.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Asked Ron looking worried.

"She will be, she's Professor McGonagall" Said Harry trying to install confidence in his voice.

"4 stunners to the chest…" Began Hermione with an analytical look on her face.

"She'll be fine" Interrupted Ron with a concerned look at Eliza, "Let's go to the common room, they might know something."

They made their way to the foot of the tower in an uncomfortable silence, when they reached the bottom of the steps their path was blocked by Umbridge.

"There you are Potter; Professor McGonagall would like to see you dear." She said in her sickly sweet childish voice.

"She's ok?" Asked Hermione looking amazed.

"Of course she is, now come on dear we don't want to keep her waiting." Harry made to move forward but Umbridge laughed.

"Not you Mr Potter, off you go back to your common room you three. Miss Potter will be with you shortly."

Eliza and Hermione glanced at each other carefully, the latter looking suspicious.

"Tell Professor McGonagall that we're glad she's ok." Said Ron in an uncharacteristic display of affection for their Head of House. Eliza nodded and followed Professor Umbridge.

They walked in a predictable silence, after a few minutes it became apparent that they were not headed to Professor McGonagall's office but were instead walking towards the Headmistress's.

"In you go dear." Eliza walked through the open door and the plates of kittens hissed at her.

"Sit." All the sweetness had disappeared from Umbridge's voice and Eliza sat down feeling extremely nervous.

"Well Potter it would appear as if I have won. There's no one left here that can protect you so you will answer my questions."

Eliza gasped slightly,

"As if she would be fine after 4 stunners to the chest by ministry trained Aurors, an interesting turn of events. I wasn't planning on going after her till the half-breed had gone but thankfully her death can be put down to her own foolishness."

Eliza shook her head; Professor McGonagall could not be dead.

"Come now Potter, you're intelligent enough. She was too old to cope with that amount of magic. The death will be announced in the morning. Now back to my questions…"

Eliza's attention was beginning to fade as panic set in. The thought of Professor McGonagall being…she was the only teacher who had…

A sharp slap across her face brought Eliza's attention back to the present,

"Listen to me! Where is Sirius Black?" Umbridge's hair was falling out of its bun and she had a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

Eliza shook her head and tried to stop the tears from falling.

"Where is Albus Dumbledore? Who is in the Order of the Phoenix?..." The questions just kept coming, some of them Eliza knew the answer to but some of the questions were so absurd that she had no hope of ever knowing the answer.

"Do you really think that any of them believed your stupid story? Do you think that if any of them cared about you they would send you back to Surrey every year?"

"It would be so easy to hurt that blood traitor of yours, we could make it look like an accident, blow up that stupid shop of his and no one would be any the wiser!"

Eliza kept shaking her head; Umbridge changed tact and withdrew her wand.

"Cruciatus curse ought to loosen your tongue." Eliza looked up at her in horror as Umbridge cast a spell at the door.

"Where is Albus Dumbledore? Last chance Potter! Crucio!"

The pain hit Eliza like a million knives cutting and twisting into her, she fell off the chair and banged her head on the corner of the table but did not give Umbridge the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

When the curse lifted Eliza stayed on the floor and Umbridge bent down next to her.

"You can stop this you know, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know. She wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt; she would tell you to talk. Where is Remus Lupin? Crucio!"

The hours passed and the questions kept coming, Eliza had thrown up several times but each time Umbridge just vanished it and carried on. Eliza wondered how long the Longbottom's had lasted under torture, she couldn't go on much longer.

The bell sounded and Eliza realised it must be time for her NEWT Transfiguration exam, Umbridge smirked and conjured some ropes that bound themselves around Eliza's body holding her in a crouched position.

"What a shame that she wasted so much time on you. I must get back to running my school, I'll see you later Miss Potter."

Umbridge waved her wand and Eliza felt herself lifted off the floor and into a cabinet behind the desk. The doors closed with Umbridge's grinning sadistic face being the last thing she could see.

Eliza tried to move even an inch but the ropes were too tight, she tried to make a sound but the gag cut too tightly into her throat. After a few more futile attempts Eliza closed her eyes and accepted the impending darkness like an old friend.

When she next woke Eliza had no idea how long she had been in the cupboard, her body ached and her throat was bone dry. She could hear voices from outside the cupboard and her heart soared when she recognised Hermione's voice.

"…we'll have to tell her Harry!" Hermione sounded desperate and Eliza's elation quickly turned to despair when she realised that Umbridge was also present.

"No way!" Harry sounded outraged.

"So Little-Miss-Question-All is going to give us some answers, out with it girl!" Eliza was slightly pleased to hear that Umbridge sounded like she was having a bad day.

"We were trying to contact Professor Dumbledore." Eliza listened hard to the tone of Hermione's voice but her head was throbbing, it sounded like she was lying.

"We've been working on his secret weapon and it's ready."

"Weapon? What is it? Where is it?"

"Well, we're not sure how to work it. We did what he told us but we don't understand it."

"Take me to it; let's take Potter too shall we?" Eliza heard a scuffle that indicated that Harry had been pulled up.

"Perhaps one of us should go with you Professor, for extra protection." It sounded like Malfoy, Umbridge rejected his offer of help and Eliza heard the door close.

"So what's this weapon then Weasley?" asked Malfoy with an air of maddening superiority,

"Sod off Malfoy!" It sounded like Ginny, Eliza was so confused and tried to move or make any kind of indication of her presence but to no avail.

After about 20 minutes Eliza heard Ron speak,

"I'm hungry."

"Shut up Weasley." Spat Malfoy,

"Actually I'm quite hungry too Malfoy." Eliza thought the voice sounded unfamiliar,

"You're always hungry Crabbe! Anyone got any sweets?" Asked Malfoy,

"I have, they're in my pocket. Save us some though, hey I said save us…"

There was a sound of vomiting and somebody hitting the floor.

"Ginny here!" It sounded like Neville; next Eliza heard the youngest Weasley shout an incantation and a protection spell was also yelled. The latter spell must have missed its mark because the cupboard that Eliza was in suddenly exploded and Eliza tumbled out.

"Eliza!" Ron ran other to Eliza whilst Ginny subdued their captors.

"Neville help me with the ropes, its ok Eliza." Ron and Neville fumbled with the bindings until Eliza was finally able to stretch out. The gag was the last thing to be removed.

"Are you ok? What happened?" asked Ron passing Eliza a glass of water that Luna had conjured; Eliza gulped it down and felt instant relief.

"She…she asked…questions…Where did Harry and Hermione go?"

"Have you been here all night? We thought you were with McGonagall?"

"She's…What were you doing in here?" Eliza couldn't tell them about McGonagall, she couldn't bear to say it.

"Harry had a vision of Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries so we broke into the office to check."

"What's next? Are we going to rescue him?" Asked Eliza standing up shakily.

"You sound like Harry" said Ginny with a slight grin.

"Eliza I think you need to go to the hospital wing, you look like hell." Neville was looking at Eliza with concern.

"I can do that when we've rescued Sirius. Where did Harry and Hermione go?"

"The forest, Eliza are you sure?"

"I think Eliza should come, she knows loads about the Department of Mysteries, she wants to be an unspeakable" Eliza looked at Luna, amazed.

"How do you know?"

"I know lots of things, I'm very observant. Let's go then hopefully we can be back in time for pudding." Luna looked towards the door and seemed to drift towards it, the group made to follow her but Ron held Eliza back.

"Are you sure you're ok Eliza?"

"Come on Ron" answered Eliza evasively, Ron nodded and linked arms with her so she could lean on him and they walked out of the office.

"So an unspeakable huh?" Eliza laughed slightly realising how far she was willing to go to avoid thinking about the present.

A/N The ball is starting to roll! I know this is a bit out of character for Eliza to want to go on the rescue mission but she is trying to avoid thinking about Professor McGonagall. Please review!

Angel JJK- Thanks, keep reading!

Ryn of Magic- Fred's back soon I promise

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Another cliff-hanger for you!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"There you are! Where's Umbridge?" Ginny was the first to reach Harry and Hermione, the rest skidded to a stop behind her,

"The centaurs took her, Eliza what happened to you? I thought you were with McGonagall?" asked Harry looking over Eliza's dishevelled appearance,

"She…Umbridge had some questions, but we need to get to London." Eliza said avoiding Hermione's Dumbledorish glare,

"But Eliza surely you can think about this logically, its 5 the ministry is prob-"

"We've wasted too much time!" Eliza said looking at her brother,

"Did you see it too?" Harry asked,

"How are we going to get to London?" Eliza asked ignoring his question,

"We'll fly of course, the thestrals are coming look." Luna indicated around them and sure enough they were cautiously making their way out of the trees.

"There are only 6, I'll take Eliza." Said Ron defiantly, Hermione looked suspicious but allowed Harry to guide her to a thestral.

"Come on Eliza, maybe you can have a little nap on the way, you look like hell." Eliza nodded and guided Ron over to a chestnut coloured thestral that was trying to lick the blood of her jumper.

Once Ron was safely on the creature he pulled Eliza up and sat her in front on him letting her lean back onto him,

"Why are you doing this Ron? Hermione looks…"

"I made a promise to Fred and I intend to keep it."

"What promise?" Eliza asked smiling slightly,

"Well I won't give you the specific list because it didn't cover this situation but I'm sure allowing you to fall off a thestral whilst flying through the clouds was definitely not permitted and I don't fancy being their product tester for the rest of my life. Besides if you sat with Harry he would notice the massive bump you have on the back of your head and feel how much you're shaking and panic. I've learnt that Harry panicking is never a good thing."

"Don't worry I'll put in a good word for you with Fred, assuming I don't fall off of course."

"I appreciate it, now hold on tight."

The thestral kicked off the ground hard and followed Harry's thestral, Eliza was sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep but she barely lasted to the clouds before her eyelids began to droop.

"Eliza wake up, we're landing" Eliza heard Ron's gentle voice in her ear and opened her eyes with great difficulty, her head was starting to throb but she felt slightly better after her sleep. The thestral touched down with surprising grace and Ron slipped off quickly before turning to help Eliza, she took his hand and slipped down however when her feet touched the ground they did not carry her weight and Ron had to steady her to prevent her from falling.

"Are you ok?" Ron asked quietly, Eliza could feel the after effects of the crutiatus curse cascading through her body and she bit her lip to prevent her from crying out,

"Eliza?" Ron asked more urgently,

"Yeah, just give me a minute" Eliza shook out her legs and managed to relieve some of the pain.

"Stick close to me in there Eliza." Eliza nodded and walked towards the group.

"Right now I know how to get to the Department of Mysteries but I have no idea what's in there so…"

"Don't worry about that Harry, Eliza has inside information." Said Ron with a slight smirk,

"You do?" Asked Hermione looking bemused,

"I've read some books, there are only a few but I think I could figure out how to get around."

"You've read…"

"She wants to be an unspeakable, now let's go" said Ginny urgently, Harry looked surprised for a moment but followed Ginny into the phone box.

Hermione and Eliza ended up squished together,

"That seems like a good career choice Eliza, what did Professor McGonagall say?" Hermione asked,

"She…she was pleased, she gave me the books." Eliza tried to prevent the crack in her voice but the movement of the phone box appeared to mask it.

"Right this way." Said Harry as they tumbled out of the phone box, Neville managed to catch Eliza and Hermione before all three of them fell over. Ron and Harry helped them all to their feet and they began to run through the ministry, Ron and Eliza lagging behind slightly.

When Ron and Eliza joined the rest of the group in the entrance of the Department of Mysteries Eliza was out of breath, Neville went to shut the door behind her but she held out her arm to stop him,

"No! Harry open the door in front of you first, otherwise the room will spin"

Harry followed her order without question and Eliza then indicated to Neville that he could shut the door. Harry walked through the newly opened door and the rest followed him. The room was ginormous; it was easily the biggest room Eliza had ever been in, easily 4 times the size of the Great Hall.

"What row was it again Eliza, 93?" Eliza didn't answer but instead followed in silence wishing that her head would stop throbbing.

Hermione held Eliza back,

"What?" Eliza whispered,

"You didn't see the vision did you?" She asked

"I…I was…it's not an exact science Hermione" Eliza replied before hurrying to catch up with the group,

"What's going on Eliza? You're acting very…unusual"

"Nothing now isn't the time to…"

"Eliza what happened to your head?"

"It's nothing, come on" Hermione grudgingly followed Eliza and when they reached to group they came to a stop at the end of row 93.

"But…he should be here…right here" Eliza looked around as Harry looked desperately at his twin,

"Right here?" Harry asked,

"Harry, Eliza your written here, look" Ginny was looking up shelves of prophecies and pointing at a crystal sphere, Harry and Eliza moved over to her.

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D_

_Dark Lord and (?)Potter twins_

"None of the rest of us is here" Said Ron examining the rest of the shelves,

"I'm going to grab it" Said Harry extending his arm,

"Don't Harry!" Whispered Neville looking like he'd had more than enough suspense for 10 lifetimes,

"It's about us, why shouldn't I know what it is" Said Harry as his hand closed around the object, he lifted it off the shelf and brought it to eye level, nothing happened.

"Well that was anti-climactic" said Ron,

"Oh you think so do you?" The voice was silky smooth and left Eliza in no doubt whose it was. The group of teenagers turned around and found themselves surrounded by masked deatheaters.

Lucius Malfoy's smirk was noticeable from underneath his mask, Eliza felt Hermione move closer to her,

"Hold it together Eliza, we need you." Eliza nodded trying to block the visions from assaulting her mind.

"Now be a good boy Potter and give me that prophecy"

"Why didn't you just grab it?" Asked Harry,

"Only those whose names are on the prophecy may retrieve it, now hand it over"

"No I don't think I will"

"Oh itty bitty baby Potter isn't being a good boy; maybe we should punish his sister" Eliza felt the group close in around her as a curse was deflected by Hermione,

"NO! We must not damage the prophecy, just hand it over Potter and…"

"NOW!" yelled Harry and curses shot out from the teenager's wands, Eliza felt a hand close over hers and she ran with it.

Shooting spells as they ran soon Ron, Ginny, Luna and Eliza reached a door and ran through it, Eliza sealed it behind them quickly.

"Where did the others go?" Asked Ginny,

"They ran the other way, its better this way." Said Luna calmly,

"Why?" Asked Ginny,

"It's better to split up Harry and Eliza, more area to search, more places to hide."

"Gryffindor's don't hide!" Said Ginny passionately as she moved towards the sealed door,

"No, there's another door over there let's go that way," said Eliza, "If we get to a corridor I can figure out where we are."

They left the strangely empty room and entered another one that was so full of objects that they could barely manoeuvre through it. When they were nearly at another door the previous one burst open and 2 death eaters burst through, spells flew in all directions and Ginny toppled over clutching her ankle, Ron carried her out of the room as Eliza and Luna covered them from behind.

They emerged into a room full of planets, Ron lowered Ginny to the floor and Eliza moved over to her,

"It's my ankle," she muttered grimacing in pain.

"I can put a splint on it if you want?" Said Luna casually, Ginny nodded and Eliza stood back to give them some room.

Ron was looking around the room in wonder,

"Ron don't touch anything, trust me" Said Eliza looking around at the floating planets, Ron nodded.

Out of seemingly nowhere a spell shot across the room and hit Ron squarely in the chest, he dropped to the floor instantly and Eliza conquered a shield charm before running over to him,

"Ron, Ron are you ok?" She asked shaking his shoulders,

"Hey…look there's planets here…maybe Uranus is here!" Ron collapsed into very loud giggles, Eliza and Ginny looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Come on, the shield charm won't hold long we need to get out of here. Ginny can you walk?"

"I can hobble" She said standing up, Luna went to help her leaving Eliza to convince a reluctant Ron to move.

"Come on Ron"

"It's pretty here"

"The next room is better I promise" said Eliza pulling Ron to his feet and trying to guide him out of the room,

"I'd rather stay here" insisted Ron tugging against Eliza's grasp,

"The next room has planets too; except you can eat them…they taste like cake"

"Ok, let's go"

The quartet left the room together and almost collided with Harry (carrying an apparently unconscious Hermione) and Neville.

"There you are! Are you ok?"

Luna explained there route and the various injuries as Eliza checked on Hermione, she could feel a pulse but it was weak.

"This way!" Yelled Harry as a group of death eaters began to chase them. Eliza half dragged Ron down the corridor. They emerged in a room with an archway in the middle. Eliza recognised the image from her reading.

"Stay away from the archway" Eliza yelled as she pushed Ron into a small space behind a rock.

"I'll stay with him Eliza, go help Hermione" Ginny lowered herself next to Ron with her wand at the ready.

Eliza started to move towards Hermione and Neville when she found her path blocked by a deatheater, she fired a stunner but he blocked it and walked towards her slowly and deliberately. Eliza stepped backwards and felt behind her for a doorway, thankfully she found one and she ran into it.

The deatheater managed to push his way into the room before she had shut the door and Eliza raised her wand trying to think of a spell.

The deatheater closed to door and turned around smiling at Eliza, the smile was horribly familiar. Eliza knew what would happen if she didn't act.

Raising her wand she thought of the most powerful spell she could and a wall exploded out of her wand. The room was too small to contain it and Eliza was bombarded by bricks, lifted off her feet and slammed into the wall. The darkness welcomed her like an old friend.

"…coming around, Eliza can you hear me?" Eliza could hear the voice, it sounded like Fred, and she scrunched her face in confusion.

"Yes Eliza, it's Fred come on wake up." Eliza opened her eyes and saw Fred looking down at her, he had a black eye and blood running down his face.

"You're hurt." She whispered croakily.

"Say's the girl currently trapped under one of the most impressive wand walls I've ever seen." Remus's voice sounded rough but she could here he was trying to lighten the situation.

"I didn't realise how small the room was…ouch!" Eliza gasped in pain as she tried to move,

"Stay still we'll have to get you out bit by bit." Said Fred stroking Eliza's head,

"Is everyone ok, Hermione was really hurt and Ron…"

"We've sent them back to Hogwarts; Madam Pomfrey will have them right as rain in no time."

"How about everyone else?" Neither Fred nor Remus answered,

"Who?" Eliza asked trying to move again.

"Stay still, it was Sirius." Said Fred looking at Remus carefully,

"Is he…"

"He's gone Eliza, he fell through the veil." Remus whispered, moving around the bricks,

"Oh Remus…I'm so sorry, does Harry know?" Eliza asked looking at Fred,

"He saw it Eliza, let's just focus on getting you out of here."

"This wall is very strong Eliza; I think we'll have to take some to show Minerva."

"What?" Asked Eliza, her heart skipping a beat,

"It will cheer her up no end" said Fred looking eternally optimistic,

"She's…she's alive?" Eliza asked, hardly daring to hope.

"Of course she is, she's at St. Mungoes but…Eliza hey, don't cry we'll get you out of here soon." Eliza had burst into tears and Remus knelt down next to Fred looking worried.

"Professor…Umbridge told me…she said that Professor McGonagall was dead!"

"She what!" yelled Fred standing up suddenly, the shift in weight caused Eliza to shout out in pain,

"Don't move Fred; let's just focus on getting you out of here and..."

"Remus?" Dumbledore's voice cut delicately through the air "Do you need help?"

"Yes Albus, this is quite a wall."

Professor Dumbledore moved into Eliza's vision examining the wall with his wand.

"Congratulations Eliza, I shall certainly save some of this for Minerva. Let's start near your head and then we can move down. It may be painful but we can use numbing spells if necessary. Ready?" Eliza nodded and slowly her body began to be uncovered.

When they reached her stomach Fred uncovered a foot.

"That can't possibly be yours Eliza?" He asked bemused.

"There was someone with me, I don't know who it was but it was a deatheater. That's why I did the wall. I didn't mean to…is he dead?"

"Let's just get you out of here" Said Remus with a careful look at Dumbledore.

After several more painful minutes Eliza was finally free of the wall, Dumbledore offered to conquer a stretcher but Fred insisted on carrying his girlfriend.

As she was lifted off the floor Eliza felt an odd sensation come over her and the last thing she saw was Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.

A/N Hi Everyone, here's a nice long chapter for you, hope you enjoy it. I love Ron in this chapter! Please review!

Vampiremuggle-Thanks, they find out in a round about way.

Angel JJK-Sorry it still happened like in the book!

XxyellowmellowxX-Hope you liked it?

Goldenfightergirl- It's my style, she's getting more independent though

Ryn of Magic- You'll have to wait and see…

sakuravampire-aqua- Thanks, how are you?

Ohnoestadpoles- Thanks, the next DADA professor will be Snape so that will be interesting!

DaniPotterLovesGod- Thanks, glad you liked the twist with McGonagall

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Don't worry McGonagall won't let her miss the NEWT's this year!

.sky- Thanks for your amazing review, keep reading!

BlankZeroSeven- Thanks


End file.
